January Sail
In keeping with our decision to get off our duffs and actually sail our boat this year, Mary and I took advantage of a beautiful January day for our first sail of the year.
Conditions were mild at about 49 degrees and the winds were light and variable at 1-5 knots from WNW.
If you aren’t familiar with Tellico Lake, it runs basically SW to NE so that placed the wind almost directly on our beam as we headed NE from the marina.
The 1st Mate enjoys the ride.
We were pretty rusty but managed to get away from our slip without mishap and soon we were perking right along at about 4 knots on a broad reach heading NE toward the Tanasi Clubhouse and Power Line Cove a couple of miles down the lake from our Yacht Club.
We just dialed her in and went, traveling the entire 2 miles on a port tack – more like ocean sailing than on a lake. The gentle breeze allowed me to get settled in and gave Mary the opportunity to re-acquaint herself with the various lines and controls.
But really, we just enjoyed the calming quiet of a couple of hours on the lake. The only other boat we saw was a work barge chugging toward Lenoir City at the North end of the lake.
The skipper hard at work.
As we headed back toward our home port, the winds started picking up and were more variable in direction. The Rhode Island kids called the mate and chatted on the phone for awhile and the skipper was left to his own devices.
I tacked several times and at one point made a pretty good run as the wind picked up to about 10 knots for a few minutes.
So, our first outing this year was a success. We stretched some of the wrinkles out of the sails, discovered some projects to tend to and, most importantly, got back in touch with why we love to sail.
Maybe we can continue to keep that in mind and remember to get out on the lake much more often this year.
